Network Administrator
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Network Administrator manages the day-to-day operations of an organization's computer networks.
Job Outlook
There were 266 Network Administrator job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 10697 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Network / Systems Administrator industry, which includes the Network Administrator career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Network Administrator jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $92,950.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $90,083.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Network Administrator postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $82,143.
Education and Experience
Posted Network Administrator jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 57.96% |
| Master's Degree | 7.04% |
| Doctoral Degree | 2.51% |
| Other | 12.41% |
Posted Network Administrator jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 19.68% |
| 3 to 5 years | 51.97% |
| 6 to 8 years | 17.1% |
| 9+ years | 11.26% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Network Administrator positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (56.95%)
- Communication (40.73%)
- Operations (40.3%)
- Management (39.5%)
- Problem Solving (27.71%)
- Information Technology (22.81%)
- Planning (21.72%)
- Customer Service (16.14%)
- Detail Oriented (12.22%)
- Microsoft Office (10.6%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Network Infrastructure (24.82%)
- Operating Systems (26.6%)
- Computer Science (26.91%)
- Local Area Networks (34.03%)
- Virtual Private Networks (VPN) (22.79%)
- Network Administration (70.65%)
- Firewall (44.02%)
- Network Switches (41.49%)
- Wide Area Networks (31.59%)
- Network Routing (40.81%)
- Networking Hardware (28.82%)
- Network Security (21.73%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Network Support (7.17%)
- Microsoft 365 (3.91%)
- Cisco Networking (7.63%)
- Border Gateway Protocol (11%)
- Backup Devices (14.44%)
- Active Directory (17.86%)
- Microsoft Azure (11.78%)
- Technical Support (18.58%)
- Computer Networks (19.42%)
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) (13.49%)
- Information Systems (10.72%)
- Disaster Recovery (11.94%)
- Linux (10.8%)
- Help Desk Support (10.45%)
- Windows Servers (14.79%)
- IT Infrastructure (9.1%)
- Automation (8.44%)
- Telecommunications (8.95%)
- System Administration (14.12%)
- Auditing (9.65%)
- Network Planning And Design (7.07%)
- Routing Protocols (8.04%)
- Computer Hardware (8.32%)
- TCP/IP (13.1%)
- Microsoft SharePoint (3.47%)
- Network Performance Management (20.27%)
- Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) (12.18%)
- Microsoft Office 365 (5.36%)
- Hyper-V (4.66%)
- Cyber Security (11.16%)
- Project Management (9.52%)
- Network Troubleshooting (16.56%)
- Network Monitoring (11.88%)
- Network Protocols (10.19%)
- Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) (10.03%)
- Network Engineering (12.75%)
- Windows PowerShell (5.69%)
- Network Management (7.61%)
- Virtualization (8.3%)
- SQL (Programming Language) (4.4%)
- Wireless Networks (8.17%)
- Scripting (10.6%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Computer Science (37.53%)
- Operating Systems (37.09%)
- Network Switches (57.87%)
- Network Routing (56.91%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Network Administrator skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Network Systems Administrator
- Systems Administrator
- Network and Computer Systems Administrator
- IT Systems and Network Administrator
- Systems/Network Administrator
- Provider Network Administrator
- LAN Administrator
- Administrator
- Network and Systems Administrator
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Network Analyst / Specialist
- Network Support Technician
- Network Engineer / Architect
- IT Administrator
- Systems Administrator
- Cisco Engineer
- Windows Administrator
- Technical Support Engineer / Analyst
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Network Administrator jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- GovCIO (450)
- Robert Half (391)
- Leidos (313)
- General Dynamics (205)
- Allegis Group (172)
- TEKsystems (147)
- Logicalis (137)
- Molina Healthcare (135)
- Insight Global (126)
- ManTech (125)
North Carolina
- General Dynamics (23)
- Robert Half (12)
- Peraton (11)
- Booz Allen Hamilton (9)
- GovCIO (8)
- Allegis Group (8)
- Motion Recruitment (7)
- ASGN (7)
- TEKsystems (6)
- Arma Global Corporation (5)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.